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Can the new Trump administration remove Berisha's 'non grata'? How US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Kasanof, responds

2024-12-20 18:41:06Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Can the new Trump administration remove Berisha's 'non grata'?
Alexander Kasanof speaking to VOA

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Balkans Alexander Kasanof says that “the cases pursued by SPAK will go wherever the evidence leads.” In an interview with Voice of America, Mr. Kasanof says that in the meetings he had during his visit to Tirana, he emphasized the importance of the rule of law, underlining that no individual is above the law. Regarding developments in Kosovo, Mr. Kasanof says that he cannot comment on the positions of the incoming administration.

Voice of America: Mr. Kasanof, this is your first visit to Albania since taking office. Can you share with us what were the main issues discussed with the Albanian authorities?

Alexander Kasanof: First of all, Armand, it's a pleasure to be with you today. Thank you for the invitation to your program. I want to say that it's a great pleasure to be here in Tirana. It's really my first visit here, but I couldn't be happier to be making this important visit at an important time. You know, we do so much in partnership with Albania. We support the government and the reforms that it's pursuing on the path to EU membership that I thought it was important to dedicate a separate trip to Albania, in my new role, as you mentioned, to make sure that we had the opportunity to talk to the government as well as people outside the government and to express our support for the ongoing reforms, especially in the rule of law and the judiciary sector and our support for the independence and mission of institutions such as SPAK, which, as you know, we strongly support, and we want to see them continue their work. For this reason, as well as several other reasons that I will talk about in a moment, I thought it was important to come to Albania to have these discussions.

We spoke with various officials, including the Prime Minister, regarding his leadership in the EU reform process. And in this regard, I congratulated him on the government's continued efforts to carry out those reforms and the results they have provided for Albania, including the opening of a second group of chapters, which is truly commendable.

We talked about justice sector reforms and the importance of continuing them. We talked about our partnership in many areas around the world, including in the context of NATO, but also of course about the work we do together in a number of multilateral institutions like the UN and how grateful the United States is to have such a partnership with Albania.

At SPAK, I made sure to speak about the continued and very strong support for the work of that institution. It is worth noting that in my public and private meetings, I spoke about the importance of the rule of law and that no man or woman is above the law and that the cases that SPAK pursues will go wherever the evidence leads and this is something that we support not only as a process but also as a series of facts on the ground that help to fight corruption and eradicate organized crime, an effort that Albania is going through and that other countries, including my own country, have gone through, and an effort that we must win and that is why it is important to see the success of SPAK.

So those are some of the issues we discussed. I really appreciated all the time I was given by the officials I met with. I look forward to returning.

Voice of America: You mentioned that the US has been a strong supporter of SPAK. But it seems that other law enforcement agencies are still facing challenges. How do you assess the current justice system in the country, 8 years after the justice reform?

Alexander Kasanof: I think as you know, Armand, it is important for the United States to continue the support that we are giving to the government and independent institutions like SPAK, but also others, to move forward with the work of reforming the justice sector and improving the rule of law. It is a difficult challenge. And it is a difficult challenge for any country. And it is a challenge that requires our continued support. So it is unfinished business. Of course, this is also highlighted by some of the reforms that the EU has highlighted that need to be carried out here. The United States is trying to help wherever we can, both the government and its reform packages, but also the independent institutions to remain independent and to take the appropriate measures to eradicate corruption and organized crime, which, as I mentioned earlier, is an extremely important result that we want to see realized in Albania.

Voice of America: Mr. Kasanof, the former president and prime minister of Albania, Sali Berisha, was designated by the State Department in 2021 for major corruption. At the time, he was only a member of parliament, while now he is the leader of the main opposition party. Could this change the relationship between Washington and Mr. Berisha?

Alexander Kasanof: Dëgjo, Armand, normalisht nuk flas për personat e përcaktuar dhe hollësitë e atyre rasteve. Ajo që do të doja të ritheksoja këtu është se Shtetet e Bashkuara i shohin përcaktimet si mjet i rëndësishëm për të ndihmuar reformat e sistemit të drejtësisë dhe ndjekjen e çështjeve anti-korrupsion dhe të krimit të organizuar. Këto mjete janë ndërtuar për të ndihmuar agjencitë vendase në terren, sidomos agjenci si SPAK-u, që të arrijnë misionin e tyre, por janë ndërtuar edhe për të ndihmuar përmirësimin e sundimit të ligjit dhe të reformave në vazhdim në sistemin e drejtësisë. Kjo është ajo që theksojmë. Dhe këtu do të mbetet theksi ynë dhe fokusi ynë i vazhduar.

Zëri i Amerikës: Megjithatë ka një pritshmëri të lartë në gjirin e opozitës, se administrata e re e Presidentit të zgjedhur Donald Trump, mund të ketë një qasje të re ndaj zoti Berisha. Dhe ka zëra të opozitës që presin që përcaktimi “non grata” të mund të anullohet. A ekziston një mundësi e tillë?

Alexander Kasanof: Nuk mund të flas në emër të administratës që vjen. Do të ishte e pavend. Por, mund të ritheksoj për ju që në administratën e tanishme, ne do të vazhdojmë të fokusohemi tek këto reforma dhe të fokusohemi tek ndihma që institucione si SPAK-u të përmbushin misionin e tyre.

Zëri i Amerikës: Shqipëria do të mbajë zgjedhje të përgjithshme vitin e ardhshëm. Disa nga shqetësimet kryesore në të kaluarën kanë qenë blerja e votave, shpërdorimi i fondeve shtetërore nga partia në pushtet dhe ndikimi i krimit të organizuar në këtë proces. A ndani dhe ju të njëjtat shqetësime dhe cilat janë pritshmëritë tuaja?

Alexander Kasanof: Pritshmëritë tona janë njësoj si për cilindo vend që zhvillon zgjedhje, që presim të shohim zhvillimin e zgjedhjeve të lira dhe të ndershme dhe që do të respektohet vullneti i popullit. Po ashtu, shpresojmë fort që do të shohim kandidatë që janë tërësisht të panjollosur nga korrupsioni apo nga lidhje me krimin e organizuar. Mendojmë se do të ishte rezultati më i mirë për Shqipërinë.

Zëri i Amerikës: Në fund të muajit të kaluar (29 nëntor) në veri të Kosovës ndodhi një shpërthim që dëmtoi infrastrukturën kyçe të furnizimit me ujë të vendit. Sa mund të ndikojë kjo procesin edhe kështu të komplikuar të normalizimit mes Kosovës dhe Serbisë?

Alexander Kasanof: It was a terrible attack. We have condemned it in the strongest possible terms and I will reiterate here that we condemn any such attack. We are assisting Kosovo and the government of Kosovo to conduct the investigation. We have assisted by making resources available for this purpose. And we think it is critically important that any investigation follows the facts on the ground, properly examines all the information there and works with international partners in this context to ensure that a credible investigation is established. What I can say is that such acts are not only terrible but are clearly designed to create instability and we reject them in the strongest possible terms.

Voice of America: During your previous visit to Pristina, you emphasized that the uncoordinated actions taken by the government there complicate the United States' ability to successfully support Kosovo. Now that there will be a new administration in Washington that did not have very friendly relations with the first Kurti government, do you think this will affect the approach to the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue?

Alexander Kasanof: I repeat, Armand, it is not appropriate to talk about a new administration and what its policies will be. This administration, even as it draws to a close, will remain focused on helping Kosovo, supporting Kosovo, not only in the reforms and efforts they are making on the path to integration with Euro-Atlantic structures, but also as they work on issues that are at the core of the EU-mediated dialogue. We are supporting a successful conclusion and we will continue to urge both governments in Pristina and Belgrade to continue to make all possible efforts to make progress in that dialogue. We will continue to assist in this regard./ VOA


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